Will India’s new line on Kashmir derail ties with China?
- Beijing has objected to an Indian parliamentary decision that covers an area claimed by both countries, the latest source of tension in decades of border disputes
- Tensions come as India and China continue to emerge from shadow of 2017 border dispute at Himalayan town of Doklam
A fresh row between Beijing and New Delhi over India’s decision to split the hotly contested region of Kashmir into two territories could cast fresh uncertainty over bilateral ties amid signs of both improvement and growing strategic competition.
But analysts from both countries remained optimistic that the latest irritant would not throw bilateral ties off track.
Parts of Kashmir are claimed by the two regional giants as well as India’s arch-rival Pakistan, and the dispute is one of a number of border issues that have for decades dogged relations between Beijing and New Delhi.
On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry voiced “serious concern” about a highly contentious move a day earlier by India’s parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, to split the state of Jammu and Kashmir – which includes the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh area – into two federal territories.
Jammu and Kashmir will have a state legislature, and Ladakh – which includes Aksai Chin, a Chinese-claimed and held disputed territory – will be ruled directly by New Delhi.
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the decision to create a separate territory for Ladakh was unacceptable and undermined China’s territorial sovereignty.